I understand now
Why those wiser
Than I have said,
The one who causes you the
Most distress is
Your greatest teacher.
I resisted, at first.
New-age, hippy
Bullshit.
Pollyanna.
Fuck you, Pema (1).
You didn’t even
Raise your own children—
True story.
As I sit
Bearing witness, feeling
The intensity of our conflict
Inside this body,
I’m in awe
Of what it means
To be alive.
But still,
To the divine
I retort:
“You're fucking welcome.”
And,
“Are you entertained?”
And, once I've exhausted
My smallness,
My ordinary human
Complaints:
“Thank you.”
Struck still and
Wordlessness,
Now I’m holding
This breath
With
Thoughtless appreciation—
For the depth of love,
And pain,
And grief,
That’s possible.
Boundless,
And contained
Within the bounds
Of this body.
(1) Reference to Pema Chodron, a well-known Western Buddhist teacher and author of popular spiritual and self-help books, most notably, When Things Fall Apart.
